


stuck.

by layuh



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: After Homecoming, Comfort, Gen, How Sweet, Irondad, Lowercase, One Shot, Short One Shot, Swearing, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart, before infinity war, spiderson, they bond over dead moms
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-21
Updated: 2020-03-21
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:35:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,644
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23251822
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/layuh/pseuds/layuh
Summary: in which tony stark gets stuck in an elevator with peter parker and discovers they aren't all that different.
Relationships: Maria Stark (mentioned) - Relationship, Mary Parker (mentioned) - Relationship, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Comments: 10
Kudos: 119





	stuck.

**Author's Note:**

> i barely see fics regarding peter's parents! it makes sense due to the fact that they passed when he was young, but still! this is centered around peter's mother and tony's mother. set after homecoming, but before infinity war and they're still getting to know each other :) this is a little rushed, i'm sorry

if you had told tony stark that one day he was going to be trapped in an elevator with a vigilante teenager-

well, he would've laughed in your fucking face.

unfortunately, there was no laughter, just frustrated grunts as he kicked the door for the trillionth time. peter was leaned into a corner with his arms crossed, watching passively, his teeth clenched tightly. after a few more attempts with no success, tony turned around on his heel to face peter. 

"i mean, seriously? i am one of the richest men _alive_ and my elevator breaks down? what type of bullshit is that?" he scowls to himself. peter laughs softly, but clearly strained. ''language, mr.stark" he reminds lamely.

tony snorts before sinking into the corner opposite to peter, grunting as he finally sat.

peter follows suit in his own corner, arms wrapped around his stomach as he stared at the wall distractedly. tony raised an eyebrow at his behavior, but decided against commenting on it. _stay in your lane, stark. not like you're his dad._

peter had been acting...off today and as much as tony would never admit it, he was worried.

usually, he was talking tony's ear off and cracking terrible puns. even before they got stuck in here on their way to the lab, the teenager had been uncharacteristically quiet and reserved.

tony could no longer stand the silence or the beaten up look peter was giving to the wall. tony exhaled harshly, _oh christ, i am not cut out for this._ he thought weakly before he opened his mouth. "mr.parker" he addressed, causing peter's head to whip towards him, staring at the older man like a deer in headlights.

tony raised an eyebrow. "you with me, kid? don't tell me you're gonna throw up or something." he attempted at a joke. peter laughed, strained again. "no, just...just thinking. i'm good." he claimed with a clearly forced and lopsided smile.

tony sighed, looking at peter with a frown. "last time you told me you were 'good' you were bleeding out in some trashy alley. seriously, what's up?" he asked, trying to make his tone more gentle.

"if you're worried about the elevator, it's fine, pepper will notice we've been gone for too long within- like 10 minutes, we'll be-" all of a sudden, during the middle of his sentence, he realized something.

"wait, you're not hurt are you? peter, i swear to fuck if you've been hiding an injury-" peter's eyes widened comically as he started shaking his head. "what? no, no, no! i'm not injured, it's just..."

peter hesitated, biting his tongue quickly. tony his eyebrow again. "it's just...?" he prompted.

"it's my mom's birthday today."

_oh shit._

both sat in silence, neither knowing what to say.

tony cringed at himself, thoughts running a mile a minute. _shit, i overstepped. what the hell am i supposed to say? i am the scum of the earth making this kid talk about his dead mother holy balls._ tony struggled for words, looking like a fish out of water.

"i...uh...you could've took the day off." was the first thing to exit tony's mouth in a rush to fill the silence.

he instantly realized his words and facepalmed _hard_. "oh fuck, sorry...sorry. jeez, i suck at this." he whispered. he started to feel his face heat up. _please don't be mad at my dumb insensitivity and emotional constipation, i know i'm the worst._ tony thought to himself, his hand sliding down his face slowly.

peter let out a gentle laugh, clearly not mad at all, which was a relief. "it's okay. i didn't really feel like taking the day off, though. it's always better to be doing _something_ on days like these. plus, i-" peter swallowed hard. "i enjoy working together." he settled for with a soft smile.

the words _"i feel safe and okay with you."_ went unsaid between the both of them.

tony offered a smile back, his shoulders slowly losing tension. "i enjoy working with you too, kid."

there was a few more beats of silence before tony decided to speak up. "what was she like? your mother?" he asked, surprising himself with his soft tone. "if you don't mind me asking." he quickly added.

peter shifted, stretching his legs out so the top of his beat up sneakers touched tony's expensive dress shoes.

the teenager smiled again. "i don't remember too much, i was only five when her and my dad died." he said, his voice barely above a whisper.

"but i do remember her smile and how kind she was." he sighed. "i remember how she would always play with me even when she was tired from working around the clock, i remember how she always made time for me no matter how busy she got." peter's voice began to get stuffy as he stared at his shoes.

tony's heart ached and he felt a surge of affection for the younger boy in front of him as he continued. "i remember i would stay up waiting for her because she worked so late and even then, when she was so tired that she had bags under her eyes she would read to me, and i remember waving goodbye to her in the airport, not knowing that was gonna be the last time i'll ever see her again." peter was sniffling, staring at the ceiling, clearly trying to keep his tears in.

tony's body seemed to move on its own as he shuffled to peter's side. he hovered awkwardly, not knowing what to do for a moment. it only took a few seconds before peter latched onto him, shoving his face into his mentor's chest and letting out his tears quietly.

tony slowly curled an arm around him, then the other.

they fit together like two puzzle pieces.

peter's soft cries filled the elevator as tony rubbed circles onto his back as soothingly as he could muster. the pair had been building a relationship almost akin to father and son, but both of them, being the masters of avoidance they are- always shied away from being emotionally honest with one another, this was a big step for both of them.

peter sniffled a few more times before pulling away, aggressively wiping his face. "sorry." he apologized in a nasally voice. "you probably think i'm pathetic." he blubbered.

tony placed his hands on peter's shoulders firmly. "pete." he whispered, not waiting for a response before continuing.

"i know this is gonna sound super hypocritical coming from me, but your emotions do not make you weak or pathetic." his voice was soft, he'd never been this...vulnerable with anyone but pepper and rhodey, but even then, it was different.

"matter of fact, you know what?" he queried gently. peter propped his chin up to look at him, eyes red, tear marks staining his cheeks, sniffling up snot. "what?" he asked quietly. 

"i've never seen you stronger." he admitted truthfully. 

peter laughed quietly, wiping his face again. he sighed before laying his head into tony's lap.

tony's hands hovered over him, his fingers twitching in the air before he slowly started playing with peter's curls. _don't fuck this up, tony._ a voice in his head scolded.

"your mom would be so proud of you, kid." he said in a hushed voice, twirling peter's hair around his finger. peter turned to look up at him with wide eyes that made tony's heart burst. "you really think so?" he asked. "i know so." he reassured.

peter's lips curled into a smile. 

a few beats of silence passed again, but this time they weren't tense at all. "mr.stark?" peter asked, looking up at him. tony propped his neck down to look at him. "yeah?"

peter chewed his bottom lip. "it was maria, right? your mom's name?" he asked quietly, catching tony completely off guard. tony froze up for a second before finally opening his mouth. "yeah." he answered, exhaling softly.

"that's a pretty name." he remarked, tying a knot with his hoodie strings. tony chuckled. "yeah." he agreed. 

peter sat up onto his knees, looking at tony. "she'd be proud of you, too, mr.stark." he said with a smile, his words genuine and his eyes full of so much admiration it made tony's heart want to explode.

tony found a smile creeping onto his face subconsciously. ''thanks, peter."

just at that moment, the elevator dinged loudly, scaring both of them and the doors opened to reveal none other than pepper potts. she stood with a smirk, arms crossed confidently.

" _i_ fixed the elevator." she boasted proudly. tony laughed as peter stood up. the teenager offered a hand that tony took gratefully as he hoisted him up onto his feet.

"well, you boys have at it. your workshop is getting cold." she teased with a smile.

"actually, we're skipping the workshop today, pep." tony stated with a growing smile. peter glanced at him. "we are?" he asked with his eyebrows raised. tony put his arm onto peter's shoulder. "yep, let's start a tradition actually." tony snickered. "every...what day is it?" pepper rolled her eyes affectionately. "it's thursday, tony."

"every thursday from now on will be our movie night!" he declared. "hell yeah!" peter cheered.

pepper laughed at the two before a phone rang in the distance. "i have to get that, you boys have fun! and tony, make sure peter gets a ride home!" she called over her shoulder while speed walking to the direction of the ringing.

"i know!" he yelled back.

"finally ready to get out of this elevator, kid?" tony asked with a grin.

peter looked at the spot the two were sitting at a few moments prior with a small smile.

"yeah, i'm ready."

and with that, they left the elevator behind and moved forward.


End file.
